Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Christopher Moore is always a good option for alleviating pandemic stress

Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore

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Many people have asked recently for reading recommendations for when you are just too stressed or tired to focus well. I’m not a social scientist, but I suspect the pandemic has something to do with the intense fatigue everyone is feeling, even when it comes to indulging in the joy of reading. Fortunately, Christopher Moore continues to write during these gloomy times. While every novel of his isn’t necessarily a winner, you can absolutely count on Moore to provide a pleasant diversion, even if the […]

Reading, Reading, Reading, RAWHIDE!

The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey

The Dame by Richard Stark

Tricky by Josh Stallings

Quarry's Deal by Max Alan Collins

The Plea by Steve Cavanagh

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I read a lot last week but also had a busy week at work (a good busy). Every time I tried to write a review on one of these books, all of them good, I just didn’t have the time or energy. So here’s a big update dump of the stuff I read in the last week and I’d be glad to tease them out more in the comments if anyone is curious… “The True History of the Kelly Gang” I enjoyed large parts of […]

…but the past ain’t through with you.

Broken Harbor (Dublin Murder Squad #4) by Tana French

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Broken Harbor, by Tana French, is not a book. It is a jagged ball of glass that dazzles the eyes but draws blood as deftly as a razor blade. Detectives Mike “Scorcher” Kennedy, lead investigator of the Dublin Murder Squad, and his rookie partner Richie Curran are assigned a high profile murder case. A family of four, including two young children, have been brutally attacked in their home in the housing estate of Brianstown. Swift justice is called for and Kennedy’s close rate is the […]

Enticing, female driven mystery-thriller

The Banker's Wife by Cristina Alger

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The Banker’s Wife is a mystery thriller following two women, Annabel and Marina, and their pursuit to uncover the links between a deadly plane crash and a larger international conspiracy. If that description is vague, it’s meant to be. I had a lot of fun reading this book, and I despair robbing anyone else of that pleasure. Easy to read and compelling, Cristina Alger excels at deepening the female protagonists’ inner lives and motivations without resorting to cheap stereotypes or dependence on the men in […]

World Needs Bad Men

Corruption City by Horace McCoy

Blood on the Moon by James Ellroy

L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy

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I don’t necessarily agree with the title, which comes from the famous exchange from season one of the TV show True Detective. But since it’s thematic of the three books I read recently, I decided to go with it. I hate coming up with titles. Corruption City ***** A fun crime tale that should have been better. McCoy lays out a good story but halfway through, it’s like an editor reminded him it’s a pulp novel so he has to take shortcuts. Still an entertaining tale. McCoy might […]

Back in Ilona Andrews’ Atlanta, this time with a new protagonist

Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews

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Info to new readers – while this is the first book in a new series, and as such, should be perfectly accessible to readers completely unaware of Ilona Andrews’ previous books, it references A LOT of stuff that happened in the ten-book Kate Daniels series, as well as in Iron and Magic, a spin-off book of that series. I would highly recommend that you start there. Aurelia Ryder arrives back in Atlanta after an eight-year absence, trying to keep her presence mostly under the radar. The last time […]



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